English Dub Review: Pop Team Epic “Donca * Sis”

Those same old tropes.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Nice Boat

It opens up with the infamous boat sequence, reminiscent of the censored final episode of School Days.

What a way to start the episode.

Score

8/10

 

Donca * Sis

Iyo has a crush on her senpai, Hojo, but her father, Pipimi, is planning to remarry. When she goes to see her new stepmom, it turns out that it’s Popuko, whose son is Hojo. Popuko and Pipimi cause Iyo a lot of trouble, from their gambling habits to their incessant annoyances. Iyo is then routinely harassed by jealous fans of Hojo at school. The final straw comes when they try to spend the last of their rent money on pachinko, which would leave the family in perpetual poverty. Desperate and at her wit’s end, Iyo lunges at her father with a knife. She accidentally ends up stabbing Hojo, who doesn’t want to lose her.  Later, they get married and have two twins that look exactly like their parents.

This is largely a parody of a lot of shoujo anime with ridiculous plot twists that escalate. Or the ‘technically not incest’ type anime. I’m not a fan of what they’re parodying, but they do parody it really well.

Score

7/10

 

Pop Team Cooking

Pipimi and Popuko host their own cooking show. They start out by quickly throwing the materials in a pot without showing what they are, and moving onto the finished product. The key term: simmering.

This is a parody of cooking shows, specifically NHK’s Today’s Cooking. A lot of cooking shows can’t do the whole stretch of preparation and cooking onscreen, so they usually cut things for a time. Of course, the girls instead decided to cut absolutely everything.  

Score

9/10

 

Bob Epic Team (1):

Pipimi wonders when their next vacation is. An owl appears and gives them detailed directions to go to the pet store— to buy him food. Pipimi tells him to get it himself.

The joke is pretty straightforward. And the owl is oddly reminiscent of a certain owl from Ocarina of Time that forces you to go on quests.

Score

8/10

 

Petting:

Popuko says she likes nice long strokes and caresses. Pipimi pats her head, and the longer she pats Popuko, the longer her neck grows. On the girl’s side, they start to moan in pleasure— but yell out Marilyn Monroe’s name instead. On the guy’s side, the voice actor’s make some jokes as if they’re off camera, and then comment about how the sound editors will come up with something for the final product.

Not only is the growing neck right out of Undertale, but what happens afterward is so extra and hilarious. The girl’s side takes the joke out of control, but the guys completely break character. They discuss what should go where, something rather common for voice actors to do, but fail to realize that no, the sound director is keeping their commentary in.

Score

10/10

 

I’m Late:

A rabbit hops past Popuko, complaining how late it is. Popuko chases after it— calling after it cutely on the girl’s side, and getting increasingly irate on the guy’s side.

The rabbit is a parody of Alice in Wonderland, and the rabbit sings Born To Be Wild as it goes into the sunset. I’d say the guy’s side is a more appropriate reaction for Popuko, but hey, you have to be cute.

Score

7/10

 

Other Skits:

Popuko and Pipimi yukkuris comment on a man’s baseball game. Popuko attempts to imitate Micky Mouse. Popuko hiccups 99 times, and since she doesn’t get her hundredth hiccup, Popuko decides to self-destruct. The girls are chatting, when someone is looking at them. They yell at him, and he insists that he wasn’t looking at them.

 

Best Sketch: Petting

Worst Sketch: Self-Destruct